The Facts of Reconstruction eBook

Alcorn had taken an active and prominent part in public
matters since his early manhood. Before the War
of the Rebellion he had served several terms as a
member of the Legislature. He represented his
county, Coahoma, in the Secession Convention of 1861.
He was bitterly opposed to Secession and fought it
bravely; but when he found himself in a hopeless minority
he gracefully acquiesced in the decision of the majority
and signed the ordinance of Secession. He also
joined the Confederate Army and took an active part
in raising troops for the same. He was made brigadier-general,
and had command of the Confederate forces in Mississippi
for a good while. But, since the President of
the Confederacy did not seem to be particularly partial
to him, he was not allowed to see very much field
service.

When the war was over he took an active part in the
work of rehabilitation and Reconstruction. He
strongly supported the Andrew Johnson plan of Reconstruction,
and by the Legislature that was elected under that
plan he was chosen one of the United States Senators,
but was not admitted to the seat to which he had been
elected. When the Johnson plan of Reconstruction
was repudiated and rejected by the voters of the Northern
States, and when what was known as the Congressional
Plan of Reconstruction was endorsed and approved,
Alcorn decided that further opposition to that plan
was useless and unwise, and he publicly advised acceptance
of it. His advice having been rejected by the
Democrats, nothing remained for him to do but to join
the Republican party, which he did in the early part
of 1869.

Since he was known to be a strong, able and influential
man,—­one who possessed the respect and
confidence of the white people of the State regardless
of party differences,—­he was tendered the
Republican nomination for the Governorship at the
election that was to be held the latter part of that
year. He accepted the nomination and was duly
elected. He discharged the duties of the office
in an able, creditable and satisfactory manner.
The only point upon which the administration was at
all subject to unfavorable criticism was the high rate
of taxation to which the people were subjected for
the support of the State Government; but the reader
will see that this could hardly have been avoided
at that particular time. In his message to the
Legislature in January, 1910, Governor E.F. Noel
accurately stated the principle by which an administration
is necessarily governed in raising revenue to carry
on the government. This is the same principle
that governed the Alcorn administration when it took
charge of the State Government in 1870. In that
message Governor Noel said: “The amount
of assessment determines the tax burden of each individual,
corporation, town, and county. The Legislature
or local authorities settle the amount necessary to
be provided for their respective treasuries. If
all property be assessed at the same rate,—­whether
for the full value or for ten per cent, of the value
of the property,—­the payment of each owner
would be unaffected; for the higher the assessment,
the lower the levy; the lower the assessment, the
higher the levy. Our State revenue is mainly derived
from a six mill ad valorem tax.”